OK bill aimed at protesters could hit home for environmentalists

OKLAHOMA CITY, OK (KFOR) – Oklahoma environmental groups and Native Americans are speaking out against crude oil pipelines crossing through the Sooner State. However, a proposed bill that is being considered by Oklahoma lawmakers would make protests near energy sites illegal.

“We cannot continue to rely on fossil fuels as a primary energy source. It’s not, the climate can’t take it. Our air can’t take it. The water cannot take the contamination,” Casey Holcomb, with the Oklahoma Sierra Club, told NewsChannel 4. “We have to move immediately to invest in clean energy, renewable energy.”

According to KFOR, The Ponca Nation and Bold Oklahoma were protesting against the proposed Diamond Pipeline which would carry crude oil from Cushing to Memphis.

The bill, which recently passed in the Oklahoma House of Representatives, states that if the trespasser succeeded in damaging, destroying, vandalizing, defacing or tampering with equipment, they could face a fine up to $100,000 or imprisonment for up to 10 years.